Blur's penitence for Brit-pop continues with the aptly named
13, which deals with star-crossed situations like personal and professional breakups with
Damon Albarn's longtime girlfriend, Justine Frischmann of
Elastica, and the group's longtime producer,
Stephen Street. Building on
Blur's un-pop experiments, the group's ambitions to expand their musical and emotional horizons result in a half-baked baker's dozen of songs, featuring some of their most creative peaks and self-indulgent valleys.
Albarn has been criticized for lacking depth in his songwriting, but his ballads remain some of
Blur's best moments. When
Albarn and crew risk some honesty,
13 shines: on "Tender,"
Albarn is battered and frail, urged by a lush gospel choir to "get through it." His confiding continues on "1992," which alludes to the beginning -- and ending -- of his relationship with Frischmann. On "No Distance Left to Run," one of
13's most moving moments,
Albarn addresses post-breakup ambivalence, sighing, "I hope you're with someone who makes you feel safe while you sleep." While these songs reflect
Albarn's romantic chaos, "Mellow Song," "Caramel," and "Trimm Trabb" express day-to-day desperation. Musically, the saddest songs on
13 are also the clearest, mixing electronic and acoustic elements in sleek but heartfelt harmony. However, "B.L.U.R.E.M.I." is a by-the-numbers rave-up, and the blustery "Swamp Song" and "Bugman" nick
Blur's old punky glam pop style but sound misplaced here. "Trailerpark" veers in yet another direction, a too-trendy trip-hop rip-off that emphasizes the band's musical fog, proving that
William Orbit's kitchen-sink production doesn't serve the songs' -- or the band's -- best interests.
13's strange, frustrating combination of expert musicianship and self-indulgence reveals the sound of a band trying to find itself. With some closer editing, this could have been the emotionally deep, sonically wide album
Blur yearns to make. ~ Heather Phares